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UA System Names Two Finalists for UAMS Chancellor

2 min read

University of Arkansas System President Donald Bobbitt on Friday named two finalists in the search for the next chancellor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

They are:

  • Stephanie Gardner, who is interim chancellor and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; and
  • Cam Patterson, who is senior vice president and chief operating officer at Weill-Cornell Medical Center, New York Presbyterian Hospital.

Both will have formal visits to the UAMS campus next week, according to a UA System news release.

The announcement comes about four months after the two previous finalists for the job took themselves out of the running

Dr. A. Wesley Burks, executive dean of the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Dr. Danny O. Jacobs, executive vice president, provost and dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, withdrew themselves from consideration in August.

UAMS did not say when the men dropped out. At the time, Bobbitt said he was “disappointed” but that the search would continue.

Gardner was named interim chancellor at UAMS in July. She had served as senior vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost since July 1, 2016. She previously was an associate provost for society and health at UAMS for two years after an 11-year tenure as dean of the UAMS College of Pharmacy.

Patterson has served as senior vice president and chief operating officer at Weill-Cornell Medical Center since 2014. A cardiologist, Patterson previously held numerous academic and clinical appointments at the University of North Carolina, including as physician-in-chief at the UNC Center for Heart and Vascular Care and executive director of the UNC McAllister Heart Institute.

Each finalist will have two days of meetings on campus with faculty, staff, administrators and members of the board of trustees of the University of Arkansas. Gardner’s visit will be Dec. 11-12 and Patterson will visit Dec. 13-14.  

The new chancellor will replace Dan Rahn, who retired on July 31 after eight years serving as chancellor.

“I’m confident that both of our finalists have the skills and experience to thrive as our next chancellor, and I believe both understand and appreciate the important role UAMS plays as the state’s only academic health center,” Bobbitt said in the news release. “These are unique times for academic health centers across the country and it’s critical that we have a leader who can help ensure a bright future for UAMS moving forward. I’m pleased that both of these individuals are excited about pursuing this opportunity.”

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